15% growth rate for Paraguay

Basically agricultural output up 60% or so due to favorable weather conditions so from 3.7 mill tons of soybeans for instance we produced 8 mill tons last year.  then everything else too but at most modest pace eg: livestock up 13%, building 10% services, etc etc

this year looks promising too but not that much eg: 6 - 7 % up.  we have a lot to catch up though you wont see any Singapur style economy around just yet

I wonder if it has anything to do with Monsanto testing their GMO crops in Py. 

They're not usually labeled as such, but does anyone know if GMO foods are being sold in grocery stores or fed to livestock in Py?

In Paraguay cattle is fed out of grass basically.  We arent so rich as to use cereals that can feed humans for cattle.

80% or more of the Paraguayan soybeans is GMO sold to other countries or made into oil for export.

I gave the example of soybeans but the same had happen with maize, weath, sunflower, canola etc etc I just dont have the figures.

best,

I am glad to see that the beef is mostly grass fed - that was going to be one of my questions. Also, can I buy raw unpasteurized milk in Py?

What about chickens? Are they factory farmed and therefore given hormones and antibiotics?

I am SO against GMO foods! I will not knowingly eat any of those harmful foods. That's why I don't eat commercially prepared foods. It seems that Monsanto is taking over the world. I figure that by this time just about ALL corn is GMO. Quite a few years ago while driving through Mexico, I saw field after field of Monsanto "test" corn. At the time I didn't have a clue what was going on.

my 2 cents

This was explained\told to me upon asking someone.
Another thing that came to be when Lugo came to power, his economic-strongman (Ministro Borda) lowered the Interest rates. What did all the super-rich do... They simply saw taking their money and starting building whatever was\is much better then simply letting it sit around.

There's a hell of lot of construction going on here in the capital metropolis, that's all I can say.
Construction has grown so much that at this very moment there's a deficit of about 10.000 bags of cement per day in Paraguay.Cement's price of-course has also double in the last 2 years because of this.

lots of things had already improved eg: more companies offering internet, satellite TV, etc etc cheaper and better services.

However, the ones who manage the National Cement Industry are a bunch of corrupt, inefficient and even stupid people.  We have raw materials calcarea stone for 2,000 years or so but the plant stops and stars every often... lack of investment, gardeners as Managers I dont know.

Another thing is the airport, we deserve better and our economy could pay for that.  There is a concession law passed by the Congress and several investors looking for the revamp project but we have the workers behind... so it would take time as everything in here.

Good example of current conditions:  2 months ago an investing group announced the building of 4 blocks for the WTC Asuncion.  15 days afterwards, 2 blocks had been sold out with not even the first brick in place.

Muffiemae

For milk, unless you buy the vacume packed, "long shelf life" milk in a store, you mostly buy directly from the producer.  The packaged milk is not required to be referigerated until it is open.  Here in the US they sell packaged milk like that but I can't recall what it is called.  Doesn't seem too popular though. Even in ASU, lechero's (milk sellers) cruise most neighborhoods and sell "raw" milk.  Straight from their container to yours.  Most folks boil it before use, unless they like to really live dangerously.

Don't know about chickens, or grain crops.  Outside of ASU we've been able to find small scale farmers who sell their produce directly to the consumers.  I'd be very surprised if these smaller scale farmers ever heard of or would consider giving hormones to their meat animals or using hi-speed genetically engineered seeds.  But suppose anything is possible. 

Overall, it took me by surprise on how fresh and great tasting the produce and meat products are in PY.  Suppose one reason is that the supply chain is very abbreviated in PY unlike up north so things are generally very fresh when you get it (I've actually had to wait a few minutes for the farmer next door to finish his morning milking to get my recycled 2 ltr coke bottles filled up with milk!).  Things like grass fed beef and organic agriculture seem to be the norm, not becuase it's "new age cool" but becuase it's the way it's always been done, just like in the "good old days" every where else.

capelo, you are only mentioning problems of "the moment". Concerning the cement problem, I think the Gov. (or-least some sector within) is not very concerned about solving the problem. Come'on man, we both know how things work here, I myself paid G5.000 per bag beneath the table for each bag in the factory itself 5 years ago for a friend of mine.He loaded each time 200 begs...(it was either that or no cement)Its still the case today, as I still know people that buy directly form Villeta.
Who is a Saint here, most certainly not you nor me.Even our Presi. that quit his Catholic Priesthood to become President has had how many children while a priest? And most of the under-age, if not all.NOBODY is innocent in Paraguay, and if so, he\she must get the next Nobel prize, I always say, ;It's not a question of proving someone is corrupt here in Py BUT PROVING he isn't!

Concerning milk not sure if I'll try those milk-sellers in the the city, especially on rainy days the joke is always "at how many streams\waterholes did they stop to "fill-up"
About crops, except for the big soya production going on in the East of eastern Py, where they now use geneticly modified soya, overall crops are still "pretty pure" here.
As for meat I really don't think  the meat you'll buy locally has steroids, not that I'm saying nobody are not using it, some estancias that are only in the meat export business won't surprise me if they get caught.(money and demand baby)

but in the end, all this is just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the information. I don't boil my raw milk now, but I know that the cattle where I buy it have been vaccinated for Brucellosis. I think that's the most serious danger that could be posed from raw milk, so that would be a question to ask the milk sellers.

I'd never consume that long-shelf-life stuff called "milk."

It comes down to who's the biggest milk buyer of the milk producer, if its a big milk processing company you many know that their milk will be pretty safe, because they sure as hell doesn't want to lose their biggest client, if the milk producer only sell locally I'll sure as hell boil that milk everytime.

GDP growth for 2011 estimated at 6.7% see article:
http://www.abc.com.py/nota/estiman-que- … ecera-6-7/

6.7% is still pretty good...U.K. is looking at maybe 1%, France 2% germany 4% ( I think)...Ireland and Greece in minus figures!..no wonder the Guarani is going up so much!

It is nice grow fast Paraguay

Here's the latest in a statement from the IMF Mission to Paraguay:
4.5% for 2011 and the same for 2012.

IMF Statement

interesting document on investment opportunities for 2011

http://www.uip.org.py/c/document_librar … upId=10192

Thanks for that pdf capelo! Ive never seen figures like this!

Thanks for sharing, interesting document.
Any sugestion in terms of business networking in PY ? Maybe some events seminars one might attend ?

thanks